Olaszország már a jövőbeli játékokra készül
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Following Milano Cortina 2026, this week former Veneto Governor Luca Zaia opened in Venice the possibility of bidding for the 2036 or 2040 Summer Games, which would be the country's second Summer Olympics after Rome 1960.
With Italy still in the midst of staging its third Winter Olympic Games on home soil and as the legacy of Milano Cortina 2026 begins to take shape, Olympic debate is once again emerging in the country. From the heart of Veneto, Zaia publicly raised the idea of pursuing a Summer Olympic bid for the Games that would follow Brisbane 2032 under a multi-city model, drawing on the territorial approach recently deployed across northern Italy.
For the politician, who governed the Veneto region between 2010 and 2025, the recent experience demonstrated the logistical and organisational capacity of Italy's regions and that such political and technical capital should not be lost, "The Milano Cortina case showed the world the potential of our regions. This expertise must not go to waste. We are ready for another challenge", he said, referring to the scenario shaped by the Winter Games.
The proposal, still at an embryonic stage and without formal discussion with either the Italian Government or the International Olympic Committee, envisages a distributed structure. The historic lagoon city would host neither competitions nor an Olympic Village, instead assuming a symbolic and communicative role linked to sustainability and heritage protection, "It would have a representative function, an international showcase to promote sustainability and the protection of a UNESCO site", he explained.
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The territorial design foresees the use of existing infrastructure across various Veneto cities and also around Lake Garda, shared with Lombardy, consolidating a polycentric model aimed at avoiding full concentration in a single host. In that sense, the former regional leader argued that "concentrating everything in one city would make little sense for a country that has shown extraordinary assets from north to south".
The proposal also introduces an internal debate regarding the format of future ambitions. Italian National Olympic Committee President Luciano Buonfiglio recently stated that the country deserves to host another Summer edition and that the capital could be a natural option, opening a contrast between a centralised approach and the regional alternative.
At the political level, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded cautiously when asked about a possible bid during an appearance at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, "We'll see, one step at a time", she said, without confirming or ruling out any move in that direction.
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Beyond its preliminary stage, the signal is clear. Italy, which staged the Summer Games in Rome 1960 and previously hosted two Winter editions, Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 and Turin 2006, while preparing the Mediterranean Games in Taranto from 21 August, is once again projecting itself onto the Olympic map with ambition, aligned with the flexible framework promoted by the IOC.
If realised, the initiative would not only mark a return to the Summer Olympic calendar, but also the consolidation of a country that, following the momentum of Milano Cortina 2026, is once again ready to think big.
In a nation where sport, history and cultural identity coexist strongly, the prospect of hosting the Games again also represents an opportunity to project its heritage, tradition and organisational capacity to the world. In that climate, sporting pride and a sense of belonging once more intertwine with the international Olympic stage.